Sweden will donate 16 of its existing Gripen fighter jets by next year to Ukraine, which will go on to buy an initial 20 of the latest model, they announced on Thursday as Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited an airbase in Uppsala, 70km (45 miles) north of Stockholm. The 16 donated aircraft will be delivered in early 2027, said Ulf Kristersson, the Swedish prime minister. “This is a historic decision for Sweden, but it also strengthens Ukraine’s air defence significantly,” he added.
Regarding the latest model Gripen E jets, “the aim is to quickly conclude a final agreement with deliveries as of 2030”, Kristersson said. The two countries have a long-term deal under which Ukraine could buy up to 150 of the Gripen E. “We hope we will be able to secure financing for all of them,” Zelenskyy said. Importantly, the Gripen can be armed with powerful, European-made Meteor air-to-air missiles.
US congressmen have backed Zelenskyy’s calls for more air defence missiles. “My hope and expectation is that America will respond positively to this request,” said senator Richard Blumenthal, speaking alongside US Representative Jim Himes, a fellow Democrat, after meeting with Ukraine’s president in Kyiv.
Himes, the top Democrat on the House of Representatives’ intelligence committee, said conversations in Washington around military support to Ukraine had been complicated by the US war on Iran. “That conflict needs to be brought to a close yesterday for many reasons, including the fact that the material that is being used in the Persian Gulf right now needs to be used for our defence and needs to be provided to Ukraine,” Himes said.
